


The Hot Guy Discount

by never_love_a_wild_thing



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff and Humor, Hairstylist Theo Raeken, Liam Dunbar Has a Crush, M/M, Nicknames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-14 19:58:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15396261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/never_love_a_wild_thing/pseuds/never_love_a_wild_thing
Summary: Theo is Liam's new hair stylist. Liam develops a crush and then starts going back to get his hair cut more and more frequently. It will end one of two ways: Liam with no hair or Liam with a date.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Minimal editing and attention to details! Yay! (Sorry guys!) I just really felt like writing something short, so I took my own prompt from a while back (lol) and it definitely won't be as short as I originally thought. NO LONGER THAN 10K. That's what I'm sticking to! (I would say 5k, but I know myself better than that) and hopefully only 2 or 3 chapters.  
> I just wanted a fun little thing, so, you know,  
> Enjoy.
> 
> (Also I have no idea what that title is. I can't title. Also I should be sleeping right now. Sorry.)

Liam needed a haircut. That was clearly the problem. He couldn’t hold on to anyone since Hayden for longer than a one-night stand, he hadn’t gotten the promotion he had been hoping for at work, and his toilet had overflowed that morning, forcing him to spend money he didn’t have for a plumber to come and fix it. And somehow the answer to all of this seemed to be to get his hair cut, something he did rarely enough not to have a regular hairstylist where he lived now.

After nearly half an hour of looking at reviews online, he finally decided on a place that looked cool but not too weird. Too trendy to cater to old people, but not so out there that Liam had to be afraid of coming away with some strange hairdo that he hadn’t asked for.

The website said that both appointments and walk-ins were welcome, so he decided to just walk over and see if anyone was available. Mason would be impressed, at least, he reflected, shoving his shoes onto his feet and grabbing his jacket and wallet on the way out the door, he had been telling Liam to get his hair cut for weeks. This would definitely be a change for the better.

Chimera Hair Studio was only a few blocks away, but already edging on the chic part of town. Huge storefront windows set into artistically distressed brick showed light wooden floors with sleek black chairs twisting in front of long mirrors. There were plenty of people inside already, all of the chairs looking full, but Liam walked in anyways, setting a bell tinkling above the door, the noise disappearing into the sounds of chatter, blow driers, and some pretty awesome EDM.

“Walk in?” the guy sitting behind the high front desk asked, putting his phone down for a second.

“Uh, yeah,” Liam shifted his weight, suddenly realizing that he might be missing out on his much needed hair cut today. Maybe he could make an appointment, though. “Do you have anything open?”

The guy ran his eyes over Liam. He had dark hair, dark eyes and a fairly intense look to his scrutinizing glare. “Theo!” he yelled, finally.

Liam wasn’t sure how anyone would be able to hear him over the din, but a guy in a tight black t-shirt and dark jeans that clung to him perfectly, making him look more like one of the models in the magazines lining the selves than a hair stylist, came over, smirking as he brushed a number of short hairs off of his clothes. “What’s up, Gabe?” he looked at Liam. “Walk in?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Liam agreed.

The guy’s eyes scanned over Liam in a similar movement to that of Gabe’s, but with a completely different intensity. Liam had never felt so judged and turned on at the same time. Fuck.

“I’ll take him,” he told Gabe, finally.

“You’re supposed to be going on your break,” Gabe reminded him with a scowl at Liam, “Tracey or Josh should be done in fifteen minutes or so.”

“I’ve got it, Gabe,” Theo said firmly, a flash of annoyance in his eyes.

“Hey, if you want to take your break, I can wait,” Liam tried, already being shunted along by Theo to a chair by the front window.

Theo snorted. “That’s clearly because you haven’t looked in the mirror lately,” he said, pushing Liam into the chair and snatching a short black apron from the table under the mirror.

Liam glanced reflexively at his hair in the mirror. It wasn’t _that_ bad. Sure, it wasn’t perfectly done to maximize hotness like Theo’s was, but it wasn’t terrible either. Just a little long.

“I’m Theo, by the way. Theo Raeken. What’s your name?”

“Liam,” he replied quickly, meeting Theo’s eyes in the mirror as he moved to stand behind Liam, adjusting the chair. “Liam Dunbar.”

Theo smirked at him through the mirror. “Nice to meet you, Liam Dunbar. Now, what are we doing with this today?” He ran his hands through Liam’s hair from the front of his roots, all the way down to the ends at the back of his head. Liam suddenly wished he had one of those capes that they usually used to keep the hair off of customers’ clothes. Instead, he tried to distract himself from the sensation of Theo repeating the movement, doing all he could to keep the blood from travelling south.

“Uh, I don’t really know,” he admitted, “Just a trim, I guess? To keep it at a manageable length?”

Theo grinned widely at him in the mirror, green eyes sparkling in amusement. “Sure,” he said easily, “How short are we thinking?”

Liam showed him where he usually tried to keep the length of his hair, and Theo nodded, mock-seriously. “Alright,” he agreed, “I can definitely do that. Let’s take you back and wash it first, then I’ll work my magic.” He winked and Liam nearly fell out of his chair in his haste to follow him.

There were two rows of white sinks with black leather chairs at the back of the studio, only a few of them taken as other patrons had their hair washed. Liam wasn’t too sure about someone else washing his hair. The concept had always seemed a little weird to him, but he allowed Theo to guide him to a chair, wrapping a small white towel around the back of his neck.

“Theo?” one of the other hairstylists asked, as Liam sat back, his head resting against the sink. “I thought you were going on break.”

“Changed my mind,” Theo replied in a thoroughly dismissive way. The next second, Liam felt warm water pushing his hair back onto his forehead. He was angled so that he couldn’t really see Theo anymore, but he felt his eyes close anyways when Theo’s fingers massaged into his scalp.

“Feel good?” Theo asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” Liam sighed. Theo’s hand and the water disappeared for a second and then both hands were back with a fresh scent and the slickness of high brand shampoo. “I don’t usually like it when other people wash my hair, but this is nice.”

“Oh yeah?” Theo asked. Liam hadn’t even known him that long, but he could already form the image of Theo standing above him, wearing an amused smirk.

“Shut up,” he said. He hadn’t meant to say it, and it was lacking any kind of heat, but his eyes snapped open in horror anyways.

The horror quickly melted, though, as Theo shouted out a laugh, and his fingers continued rubbing tiny circles into Liam’s scalp.

“Oh, I love this kid,” he sighed to the hair stylist across from them, who looked totally taken aback.

His hands disappeared and then were replaced with warm water and one hand, rinsing the shampoo out.

“You use conditioner, right?” Theo asked, hand and water disappearing again.

“Yeah,” Liam said, proud that he seemed to be doing something right for once, “Two-in-one.”

The hands working their way back into his hair froze. “No,” Theo moaned, “That’s a joke, right? You’re joking?”

“…Is that bad?” Liam asked, hesitatingly.

“No, it’s fine,” Theo said, hands resuming the massage more vigorously this time, “If you don’t give a shit about your hair.”

“Oh,” he said thoughtfully. He had always figured they wouldn’t bother making it if it wasn’t any good for your hair but talking to Theo made him feel like an idiot for not realizing that two products designed to do two different things probably wouldn’t work as well combined.

“Hey, you learn something new every day, right?” Theo told him, his voice strangely reassuring as he rinsed the conditioner out of Liam’s hair. “Speaking of which, what do you do, Liam?”

Liam wasn’t sure he would ever get over the way that Theo’s voice said his name. And, wow. That was more than a little embarrassing. Sure, Theo was ridiculously hot, the way his pecks strained against the fabric of his shirt and his arm muscles bulged underneath the sleeves, those green eyes and that playful smirk, the light dusting of stubble over his jaw and the perfectly artfully arranged hair that proclaimed his mastery at his craft… But Liam would not allow himself to have a crush on him. He just wouldn’t.

Liam cleared his throat. “I work in archives for the city library,” he said. It sounded boring, he knew it did, but personally, Liam loved his job and he got incredibly defensive when anyone looked down on it.

“Sexy,” Theo laughed, running the towel over Liam’s head and then beckoning for him to follow back to the chair by the window. Liam tried not to stare too obviously at his ass the whole time. “Like Indiana Jones, right?”

“Indiana Jones was an archeology professor,” Liam fumed, “And – “ He caught Theo’s eye in the mirror as he sat down. There was no malice to his expression, just sparkling green eyes and a wide smile.

“Cool it, Indy,” Theo said, swinging a black, waterproof cape over him and crossing back to the table in front of Liam to collect some supplies, “I’ve seen the movies, don’t worry. Your job sounds cool, though. You like it?”

And Liam somehow found it very easy to tell Theo everything from what his work was like on a daily basis to the promotion he hadn’t gotten, to the overflowing toilet. Theo focused on whatever he was doing to Liam’s hair, but replied with real feeling and advice, as if he had actually been paying attention.

“So, this place is pretty cool,” Liam said finally, “How did you come to start working here.”

“Got sick of the assholes I used to work for,” he shrugged, still focusing on the last few details of Liam’s haircut, “I always loved this building and they had it up for lease, so I quit, rented this place, did a couple of renovations, and now I own it.”

Liam stared at him in the mirror slack jawed, his little self-conscious smile, his sure hands, the contentment in those green eyes. “You own this place?” he asked in amazement.

Theo looked up, meeting his eyes, and grinned. “Yeah, you like it?”

“It’s awesome!” he gushed, “The atmosphere’s great.”

“Thanks!” Theo beamed, “I only work with friends now, which helps. Other than that, I guess I’ve just got good taste.” He turned on the blow drier and conversation fell away for the time being.

At some point, Theo turned Liam around in the chair, facing away from the mirror as he styled his hair. “I want it to be a surprise,” he had told him. And Liam was amazed to find that he already trusted him.

“What do you think?” Theo asked, biting his lip as he watched for Liam’s reaction in the mirror.

Liam stared. He looked nothing like himself and yet…more like himself than he ever had before. He had no idea how Theo had done it, but he thought he might be a little in love. “What…how…fuck, Theo, this is amazing! How did you make me look this good?”

“You always look this good, Indy,” Theo winked, “You just need to take care of your hair. Here, this is the styling gel I used. You just work it in back to front. Not too much or you look like a total douche. I can write it down for you if you want to think about it. We also sell it here, but you can probably get it cheaper online.”

Liam looked at him. “You shouldn’t tell people that,” he informed him, “It’s a shitty business tactic.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t be an asshole to everyone,” Theo smirked.

“Do you sell the shampoo and conditioner here too?” Liam asked, standing up from his chair, unable to resist catching another glimpse of his new hair in the mirror.

Theo raised an eyebrow. “Yeah,” he said, “Everything’s up at the front, I’ll show you.”

He led him up to the corner of the studio near the front desk, where bottles of hair products were on display. Liam watched as Theo pulled a few bottles from the shelves and then handed them over.

“This one’s the shampoo. Massage it in and then wash it out completely. That’s 35 dollars. This is the conditioner, work it into your hair completely and then try not to wash it out completely. You’ll know if you need to rinse more because your hair will feel disgusting. Also 35. Here’s the styling gel, which I told you what to do with, and that’s 25. Sure you don’t want to buy it online?”

“Do you get most of the profit from selling it?” Liam asked, casually inspecting the products, like he knew anything about them.

“Well…yeah. But Liam, that’s a hundred dollars. I’m not going to sucker you into – “

“Your business skills really suck,” Liam said again.

Theo rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard,” he said, as Liam placed the hair products on the counter for an amused-looking Gabe to ring up. “Whatever. Gabe, give him the New Customer discount, at least.”

Gabe let out an unsubtle laugh but started to input the prices. “You want to book an appointment in advance or did Theo give you his card?”

“Uh…” Liam looked to Theo. “How long do I wait before getting my hair cut again?”

Theo shrugged with a small smile. He was leaning against the tall desk, arms crossed over that firm chest. “Anywhere from four to eight weeks, depending on how fast your hair grows and how badly you want to maintain the style.”

Liam had an irrational urge to come back the next day, but he knew that was ridiculous. “Uh… Do you have something in four weeks, then?” He asked Gabe, not meeting Theo’s eyes.

Gabe’s eyes scanned over the computer screen and he started to shake his head, but Theo leaned over the desk, pulling the monitor towards him, and frowned.

“Push Veronica back,” Theo told him, “She doesn’t actually need to have her hair cut again, she just likes to hit on me and stare at my ass. Liam can have her slot.” He looked at Liam. “Is 3:00 Tuesday the eleventh good for you?” he asked.

Liam nodded, feeling a little bad, seeing as he had been doing exactly what this Veronica lady did. He wasn’t sure what made him any different, but maybe Theo hadn’t noticed. He was sure he would have to work that day too, but he could leave early. He would take the whole day off if he had to.

“I thought you were going to talk her into getting an ill-advised perm,” Gabe frowned, but clicked around on the computer anyways.

“Well I like our new customer better,” Theo winked at Liam, who felt himself blush, “And I own this place, so make it happen.”

Theo hung around the entire time Liam was paying and waved away the tip that Liam tried to give him. “Just tell people about us,” he insisted, “And don’t let me down with the hair, okay? It looks hot right now. See you in four weeks, Indy.”

And on the way out, if Liam caught some of Gabe and Theo’s conversation, he would pretend to try and forget it.

“You and your Hot Guy discount.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’m going on break now. Hand off my 2:00 to Josh.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this is exactly the same as the last chapter, I'm sorry. Also why can't I write short fics? This will probably end up close to 10k...maybe. Sorry about that too. If you notice any mistakes, please let me know. I shouldn't try to write and edit and post all while I'm supposed to be sleeping, but it just happens that way.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Wow, man, look at your hair!” Mason said admiringly, when Liam met him for lunch a few days later.

“I told you I got it cut,” Liam said, more pleased for Theo’s sake than offended for his own. They moved to their usual table and sat down.

“Yeah, but that was days ago. It looks like you actually styled it,” Mason pointed out.

“Well, he showed me how to style it,” Liam said casually, trying not to betray any sign of his tiny crush on his new stylist, “So I figured – “

“ _Oh_ ,” Mason grinned knowingly, “I get it now. He’s cute, isn’t he?”

“What? I – “ Liam spluttered, and then dropped his head onto the table, realizing that he would never be able to fool his best friend. “He _so hot_ , Mason,” he complained, “I accidentally spent a hundred dollars on hair products alone!”

Mason, like the good friend he was, burst out laughing. “You got it bad,” he told him, “I want to meet this guy. You booked another appointment, right? Please tell me you booked another appointment.”

“You’re not coming with me,” Liam said quickly.

The waitress came, temporarily cutting off Mason’s argument.

“I want to see him at least,” Mason said, pulling out his phone as she disappeared, “What’s his name?”

“Theo Raeken,” Liam told him, rationalizing that if Mason could find a picture of him he would be less likely to try and get Liam to take him along to his next appointment (time that he selfishly wanted to share only with Theo). “He owns Chimera Hair Studio.”

“Oooh, the _owner_ ,” Mason teased, as he tapped rapidly through his phone, “How – holy shit, Liam!” He twisted his phone towards him to show him a picture on Instagram, “ _This_ guy? _This_ guy is your new hair stylist?”

Liam stared at the picture, mouth hanging open. It seemed to be Theo’s personal Instagram, and he recognized the face immediately, the confident smirk, the sparkling green eyes. But he was shirtless at the beach, tanned and muscular, the camera picking up the tiny drops of water trickling down his washboard abs, arm muscles flexing as one hand threaded through wet hair, pushing it back off of his face. And Liam had never been so captivated by a picture in his life. Theo wasn’t just hot. He was _gorgeous_.

“He could be a model,” Mason commented, pulling the phone away from Liam and locking it before setting it on the table.

“I know,” Liam sighed in defeat, “He is so out of my league.”

“Hey, no!” Mason insisted, “You are comparable levels of hotness. Take it from neutral party.” he gestured at himself. “Besides, I thought you said you felt bad because he took you when he was supposed to be on break. Maybe it’s because _he_ thinks _you’re_ cute.”

“Don’t say that!” Liam pleaded, “You’re putting ideas into my head!”

“Yes,” Mason agreed, “Good ideas. Dude, just get to know him. It’s not going to hurt. He has to spend time cutting your hair anyways. You guys may as well talk.”

 

Four weeks went by far too slowly for Liam, but eventually he was pushing through the heavy front door of Chimera Hair Studio again.

Gabe cast a lazy glance at him and then yelled over his shoulder, “Theo, your 3:00’s here!”

The studio wasn’t as busy as it had been on a Saturday, but about half of the chairs were still full. Liam could here someone swearing loudly in the back, and Theo appeared around the corner, ripping off a sweatshirt as he walked, eyes blazing, practically fuming in anger. It was incredibly hot.

Theo tossed the sweatshirt at Gabe, looked at Liam, and smiled, finally, eyes still fiery, but the creases soothing away from his forehead. “Hey,” he exhaled, stepping close to Liam and running a hand through his hair. “Still looking pretty good! Should we just clean it up today or did you want to go shorter?”

Liam opened his mouth, wanting to ask Theo what was wrong, but he chickened out at the last minute. “Whatever you want to do with it,” he found himself saying instead, “I trust you.”

Theo all-out grinned at him and Liam caught his breath as he followed Theo back to the rows of sinks along the back wall. Then he noticed that right in the middle of the row, the floor was covered in water and wet towels.

“What happened there?” he asked, sitting down.

Theo draped the towel around the back of his neck and then pulled him all the way back in his seat so that his head was resting above the sink.

“One of the sinks broke, don’t worry about it,” Theo grunted. Liam had a feeling that was what Theo had been dealing with when Liam had come in.

“Okay,” he agreed, figuring that Theo probably didn’t want to talk about it.

The water hit his hairline suddenly, pushing his hair back off of his face again. It was soothing for a few minutes, and then it disappeared and Liam mentally prepared himself for the relaxing, if somewhat arousing, feel of Theo’s fingers massaging his scalp. It was a rude awakening when the fingers came, only to scrub as viciously at Liam’s head as he did when he washed his own hair. On instinct, Liam reached back and grabbed Theo’s wrist, causing his hands to still in Liam’s soapy hair.

“Sorry,” he said from above Liam. Liam tilted his head backward uncomfortably to look at him. The fire was back in his eyes, though slowly burning out.

“Are you okay?” he asked, only loudly enough for Theo to hear him, not wanting and of the other customer’s or Theo’s employees to hear him.

Theo huffed and turned the water back on. “I’m fine,” he said, and then drowned the words out along with the shampoo, fingers gentler this time.

It wasn’t until he had rinsed the conditioner out of Liam’s hair and was patting it dry with a towel that he paused, holding the towel wrapped around Liam’s head. “It’s been kind of a shitty day,” he admitted.

“Want to talk about it?” Liam asked, sitting up to look at him.

Theo smiled and waved him towards the front of the studio. Liam got up, trying to hide a smile and led the way. “I know hair stylists are supposed to be like bartenders or whatever. Like you just listen to our problems and sometimes give advice and whatever, but…I don’t mind listening to your problems too. I want to.”

Theo snorted. “You want to hear my problems?” he asked, flinging the cape around Liam and securing it at the nape of his neck.

“Yeah,” Liam decided. He really, really did.

“You asked for it, Indy,” Theo grinned wickedly, getting to work on Liam’s hair, “So I missed my alarm this morning and half my staff was waiting already for me to open the door for them, then my first two clients were middle aged women who either wanted to hit on me which is fucking weird, so I put a sweatshirt on, only then I was, you know, sweating. Or they want to set me up with their daughters, which, like, bitch, what part of “I’m gay” do you not understand?”

Liam listened in amazement and maybe a little misplaced amusement as Theo ranted for at least the next ten minutes on everything from their douchebag landlord to the deli putting mustard on his sandwich when he had specifically asked them not to. He was somehow even more in love than he had been before he walked in, and that was with four whole weeks to make up wonderful things about him.

“And then one of the sinks broke and I only just got it to stop spraying water everywhere when you walked in,” he concluded, then muttering something like “And thank god _you_ walked in”.

“That is a pretty shitty day,” Liam agreed, “I’m sorry.”

Theo shrugged and looked up for a second, sending Liam a tiny, breathtaking smile through the mirror. “It’s a lot better now,” he said calmly.

“Why’s that?” Liam asked, feeling his heart thundering in his chest. Maybe Mason was right.

“You’re my favorite customer, Sunshine,” he smirked, “You brighten my day right up.”

And there it was. Liam was totally speechless.

Theo cleared his throat. “I mean, just look at this hair. Fuck yeah, Raeken!” He stepped back so that Liam could look more closely and holy shit, Theo was a nerd. Liam probably would have hated literally anyone else who congratulated themselves like that, but on Theo it was adorable, not to mention totally warranted. Liam’s hair looked somehow even better than it had four weeks ago. It was shorter than he had had it in a long time, but it actually suited him even better than the longer hair.

“I would tell you you’re an idiot, but I’m too busy trying to recognize myself,” Liam told him.

Theo grinned. “Don’t worry, Indy, I still recognize you,” he assured him, “You’re too cute to miss.”

Liam blushed, but stood up once the cape was swept off of him and followed him back to the front desk.

“So, uh. Upkeep for this cut?” Liam asked, part genuinely curious, part not wanting to leave yet.

Theo reached forwards and twitched a piece of hair back into place before rocking back on his heels and crossing his impressive arms over his equally impressive chest. “You can use the same gel. Try to style the same way I did…hey, can I take a picture for our Instagram? Then you’ll remember what it looks like too. If you follow us, I mean.”

“Uh…sure,” Liam agreed, watching Theo pull his phone from the pocket of his tight black pants and moving in front of the exposed brick wall that Theo gestured him towards.

“Smile,” Theo instructed, and Liam did, unable to keep from beaming when he saw the small upward twitch of Theo’s lips.

“Awesome. Thanks! I’ll get a shit ton of likes for that one,” Theo smirked, tucking his phone away, “But yeah. You should just keep doing what you’ve been doing. You can check back in four weeks, but, uh, shorter hairstyles need more attention to be maintained, so if you’re really attached to it, you might want to come back sooner.”

“Yeah, that might be good,” Liam leapt at the opportunity to see Theo again sooner. He knew it was a little pathetic, but he couldn’t help it. “So, like two to three weeks?”

“Yeah,” Theo grinned, “Why don’t you make an appointment with Gabe for two weeks just in case and I’ll give you my card in case you want to come in sooner or push the appointment back a week.”

“Cool, thanks,” Liam took the offered card, realizing that he was smiling like an idiot, “I’ll do that.”

“See you, Indy,” Theo smirked, yelling to Gabe to give Liam the “Insta Discount” and headed off back towards the broken sink and its abandoned puddle, leaving Liam to face Gabe’s judgmental stare alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this didn't actually end up being nearly as long as I thought it would be. I'm still considering adding an epilogue, but that would only be slightly longer than a regular chapter length so yay!
> 
> Thank you everyone for waiting patiently for this last chapter and for all your support through the comments and kudos, they really make my day! Hopefully this was worth the wait :D 
> 
> Enjoy!

Liam tried to reason it out, he really did, but every excuse seemed paper thin. He was going back to Chimera to see Theo, plain and simple. He had almost made it two weeks, but, he reasoned, an important work party was probably worth a new haircut. Then maybe he and Mason and Corey could actually do something besides play video games till three in the morning afterwards.

With this steady reasoning, he walked into the studio on Friday afternoon, a week earlier than his scheduled appointment, to see the open space filled with customers and other people waiting.

“Uh-uh,” Gabe told him, the second he walked in, “You’re not booked for another week and he does _not_ have time for you right now.”

Liam’s heart sank. “Oh,” he said, “Yeah, sorry I didn’t realize it would be this busy, I just – “

“Liam!” he swung around to see Theo waving at him from behind his chair. “Gabe, I’ll be over in a minute, don’t be stupid!”

“I should go,” Liam said reluctantly to Gabe.

“Yeah, you should,” he agreed, already looking thoroughly bored with the conversation.

Liam waited another minute before guiltily catching Gabe’s eye and leaving through the front door again. He was nearly halfway down the street, already annoyed with himself, when he heard his name being shouted behind him.

“What the fuck?” Theo yelled as he caught up with Liam, who was now just standing there waiting for him. “Why did you leave?”

“You’re busy,” Liam shrugged, trying to come off cooler than he felt. “I have an appointment for next week anyways, I’ll just come back then.”

“Why did you come?” Theo asked. Liam was fully aware that they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk a few doors down from the studio, and that Theo was still wearing his apron, but he couldn’t help but stare at his beautiful, earnest green eyes.

“I…” _wanted to see you_. “I have a work party tonight. I’m working on getting a promotion and I thought – it’s fine, though, it was stupid. I’ll just come back next week.”

He started to walk away again, but Theo caught his wrist, eyes still bright and sincere. “Come on,” he said, tugging Liam lightly along back towards the studio, “I have time to squeeze in a quickie.”

Liam couldn’t help laughing out loud as Theo pulled him back into the studio, winking over his shoulder at him, fingers still loose and warm around his wrist.

Gabe looked disapprovingly at them. “You have a 4:30,” he reminded Theo.

“Fuck off, Gabe,” Theo said cheerfully, steering Liam towards his chair. “So, what are we doing today, Indy?’ he asked.

“Just work your magic,” Liam told him, feeling something settle in his chest at Theo’s smile in the mirror, feeling like contentment.

“I love when you let me get creative,” Theo told him with a sly smirk, “What’s this promotion for anyways?”

Liam and Theo fell into their regular cadence of conversation in no time at all, moving seamlessly between banter verging on flirtation, and real conversations that felt somehow so much more fulfilling with Theo than with almost anyone that Liam had ever talked to.

“Theo, your 4:30’s here!” Gabe yelled.

Theo frowned, falling silent, but twitched a few pieces of Liam’s hair into the perfect position and met his eyes in the mirror. For a second, Liam could almost imagine him confessing his undying love, but then Theo was telling him that he was done and leading him back to the front of the studio.

“You don’t have to pay,” he told him within Gabe’s hearing, “That was just a quick fix.”

“Seriously?” Gabe asked, “Your business skills suck, Theo. You should pay more attention to your customers that actually pay full price.”

Theo rolled his eyes and turned back to Liam. “Bye,” he said with a small smile, “Good luck with that promotion.”

“Thanks,” Liam smiled back, “See you next week.”

Theo gave him one more smile and then turned to his next customer.

“How much does that usually cost?” Liam asked.

“Why?” Gabe narrowed his eyes.

“I’ll pay double.”

 

“Everything you tell me about this Theo guy makes me think he’s into you,” Mason told Liam as they sat at the bar.

“I feel like he probably just flirts with everyone, though,” Liam said.

“He probably doesn’t follow everyone out into the street to get them to come back for a free walk-in appointment,” Corey pointed out.

“Why don’t you just ask him out?”

Liam didn’t have an answer.

 

“Hey,” Theo grinned when Liam came in a week later. Liam thought that something looked better about him. His hair was more perfect, his back t-shirt was balanced nicely between being classy and being sinfully tight, and his smile, which Liam had a feeling hadn’t changed at all, was more beautiful than ever. Liam had officially fallen, he realized, as his heart sped up with just one look.

“Hey,” he replied breathlessly. Gabe rolled his eyes.

Liam followed Theo back to his chair and sighed as Theo ran his fingers through his hair.

“It’s so short now,” Theo commented, “Any shorter and you might have to get a buzz cut. Which, as much as I love having you in my chair every week, I have the moral obligation as a stylist _not_ to recommend.”

Liam panicked internally. He had to find a way to see Theo every week. He wasn’t sure he could wait for his hair to grow out just for the excuse.

“So,” Theo continued, letting his hands fall to Liam’s shoulders, green eyes finding blue in the mirror, “I think you’re going to have to either get a really inadvisable haircut, or just ask me out already.”

Liam twisted in his seat to stare at Theo, eyes wide, heart beating wildly.

“Theo, I have something totally crazy to ask you,” he said, feeling the rush of adrenaline, wondering if this was actually happening.

“What is it, Liam?” he asked, the corners of his lips twisting up towards a knowing smirk.

“Can I kiss you right now?”

Theo grinned his gorgeous smile. “Only if I can go on a date with you later.”

“Deal,” Liam grinned back, clambering out of his chair to get to Theo as quickly as possible.

If the other customers and employees cheered and some money changed hands, neither Liam or Theo noticed, both too wrapped up in surprise and happiness and each other to care about the rest of the world.


End file.
